With savory and juicy sliced beef served over steamed rice, this delicious Yoshinoya Beef Bowl (Gyudon) is a keeper for a weeknight meal!
Gyudon (牛丼) or Beef Bowl is a popular quick meal in Japan. It consists of a bowl of steamed rice topped with thinly sliced beef and tender onion, simmered in a sweet and savory dashi broth seasoned with soy sauce and mirin.
What is Beef Bowl (Gyudon)?
Thanks to Yoshinoya (吉野家), the largest beef bowl restaurant chain, Japanese gyudon became known as the “beef bowl” and is enjoyed by many people all around the world. You might wonder when the Japanese started to enjoy gyudon.
The Japanese adopted Western customs like eating beef between the late 1800s and early 1900s and these customs eventually spread throughout Japan.
Gyudon originated from another dish, Gyunabe (牛鍋) and Sukiyaki (すき焼き) where thin slices of beef are cooked with vegetables in a pot. At some point, it was served over rice in a bowl as “donburi” (rice bowl).
In 1899, the first Yoshinoya restaurant opened in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district. The use of cheaper beef cuts helped lower the cost, and ultimately drove the success of Gyudon. Today, it continues to be a popular quick, and inexpensive lunch menu for salarymen.
How to Make Yoshinoya Beef Bowl
In Yoshinoya’s gyudon, they simmer onion and thinly sliced beef in dashi broth and other seasonings. Every household makes gyudon slightly different, so feel free to adjust the flavor as you like.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Thinly Sliced Beef: If you don’t eat beef, you can make this dish with thinly sliced pork as well. Just make sure the meat is thinly sliced. Japanese, Korean, and Chinese grocery stores carry thinly sliced meat (both pork and beef), but if you can’t find it in the refrigerated or frozen meat sections, you can purchase a block of meat and slice them on your own. I’ve added the instructions in the recipe below.
- Onion: If you really do not like onion, you can skip it; otherwise, please include it. Cooked onions are tender and give sweetness to the sauce. I consider the onion just as important as the meat in this recipe. You can use regular yellow onion, sweet onion, or even purple onion (if the color doesn’t bother you).
- Shirataki Noodles (Optional): I usually cook gyudon at the very last minute (not planned) so I don’t have shirataki noodles in my fridge. However, it’s a great addition to gyudon and it’s a smart way to add the volume of the food without adding more meat. The texture also improves with shirataki noodles.
- Dashi: This recipe requires dashi. We cook the beef and onion in the dashi-based sauce. You can make dashi in 3 ways if you’re not sure how to make it.
- Seasonings: This recipe requires basic Japanese condiments—sake, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar.
- Steamed rice: You will need a little bit more amount of steamed rice than the usual rice bowl amount.
- Pickled Red Ginger (beni shoga): Typically, pickled red ginger is served on top of gyudon, and it gives a nice refreshing break to your palate. Similar to how sliced pickles are added inside juicy burgers. I personally like every bite to include a bit of pickled ginger but the amount is entirely up to you.
- Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese seven spice): If you like it spicy or got bored eating the same gyudon, sprinkle some shichimi togarashi on top. It’s a mixture of seven different kinds of spices and adds layers of flavors.
Overview: Cooking Steps
- Prepare the ingredients by cutting the onion, green onion, and beef. Make dashi if you haven’t already.
- Cook the onion till tender in the dashi and seasonings mixture.
- Add the beef and simmer with the onion.
- Serve the gyudon over steamed rice.
What to Serve with Yoshinoya Beef Bowl
We almost always serve donburi or rice bowl dish with miso soup. As you’re required to make dashi for this gyudon recipe, you might want to make a big pot of dashi. Take out some of the dashi for gyudon and keep the rest for miso soup.
Delicious Side Dishes
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Yoshinoya Beef Bowl (Gyudon)
Video
Ingredients
- ½ onion (3 oz, 85 g)
- 1 green onion/scallion
- ½ cup dashi (Japanese soup stock) (use standard Awase Dashi, dashi packet or powder, or Vegan Dashi)
- 1 Tbsp sake
- 2 Tbsp mirin
- 1 Tbsp sugar (or more, to taste)
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- ¾ lb thinly sliced beef (chuck or ribeye) (12 oz, 340 g; I use komagire beef from the Japanese market; use shabu shabu beef for higher quality; or slice your own meat)
- 2 Tbsp pickled red ginger (beni shoga or kizami beni shoga)
For Serving
- 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice (typically 1⅔ cups (250 g) per donburi serving)
- 2 onsen tamago (optional)
Instructions
Before You Start…
- Gather all the ingredients. For the steamed rice, please note that 1½ cups (300 g, 2 rice cooker cups) of uncooked Japanese short-grain rice yield 4⅓ cups (660 g) of cooked rice, enough for 2 donburi servings (3⅓ cups, 500 g). See how to cook short-grain rice in a rice cooker, pot over the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe.
- For the beef, I use assorted thin sliced beef labeled “komagire“ from my Japanese market and cut the slices further into smaller pieces. It works great for Gyudon. For higher quality, use shabu shabu beef. If you cannot find thin sliced beef in your local grocery store, you can slice your own meat. Freeze a block of fresh chuck or rib eye beef for 1–2 hours and then slice. If the pieces are too large after slicing, then cut them in half. See my tutorial for detailed instructions.
To Prepare the Ingredients
- Cut ½ onion into thin slices and slice 1 green onion/scallion into thin rounds. Set aside.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add ½ cup dashi (Japanese soup stock), 1 Tbsp sake, 1 Tbsp sugar, 2 Tbsp mirin, and 2 Tbsp soy sauce. Tip: Add more sugar, if you prefer a sweeter taste. I don‘t recommend reducing the amount, as you need to counterbalance the salt in the soy sauce.
- Cover the pan with a lid and bring the sauce to a boil. Once the sauce is boiling, add the sliced onions and spread them out in a single layer. Cover to cook until tender (make sure you cover the pan, otherwise the sauce will evaporate).
- When the onions are tender, add ¾ lb thinly sliced beef (chuck or ribeye) and cook until it‘s no longer pink. Remove the foam and fat with a fine-mesh skimmer.
To Serve
- Divide 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice into individual serving bowls. Serve the simmered meat and sauce over the steamed rice.
- Top with the sliced green onions and 2 Tbsp pickled red ginger (beni shoga or kizami beni shoga). If you‘d like to top each bowl with an egg (optional), serve with 2 onsen tamago. Alternatively, you can pour beaten egg over the meat when it’s almost finished cooking in the pan (see how I do it in my other Gyudon recipe).
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days or in the freezer for a month.
Once again Nami your recipe is spot on!! I just cooked this for my husband and his words were “oh my god this is exactly the same” he misses Japanese food so much!! I bought my beef from an Asian super market… thin rolled slices that might be used for shabu shabu!! They were perfect😄 Thank you 🙏
Hi Heidi! I’m glad to hear you two enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. xoxo
Thank you for sharing this great recipe. My family loves it.
Hi Healin! I’m so happy to hear that your family enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback! xoxo
Tried the receipe and I succeeded cooking it without any hassles! It taste exactly the same as yoshinoyaaa.. Thanks for the easy to read and photos to follow the receipe! Thank you so much!!
Hi Liani! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this gyudon! Thanks so much for trying this recipe!
I just made this tonight, on a stormy night under lockdown. A great meal and very comforting. We will definitly be having this again on nights like this!
Hi Chris! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this dish. It’s definitely a comforting meal in one bowl! Thanks for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
I worked in Japanese ramen for 7 years ,I love it ..I want to learn more recipes …thank you
Hi Rodelyn! That’s wonderful! I hope my home-cooked Japanese recipes inspire you. 🙂
Is there any substitutes other than sake for this recipe?
Hi Julia! Please use dry sherry or Chinese rice wine OR water. 🙂
Does Yoshinoya really use 6oz of beef per serving?
I really love making this dish for us. I bought a meat slicer just for this recipe and to save money. However, I discovered that 3 or 4oz seems much more balanced per serving, especially after adding other vegetables to make it a one bowl meal.
Hi Roro! Usually, gyudon is just onion and beef, so it’s up to you how much you want to consume. Typically 4 oz of meat is good. The Japanese grocery store comes with 3/4 lb package so I usually use the entire thing for 2-3 servings (depends on how much a person eats…). 🙂
Great Gyudon recipe! I made this many times as my family loves it and it is so easy and quick to make. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes! Your recipes are very helpful for me to cook Japanese food in US.
Hi Fumiko-san! I’m glad to hear you enjoy this recipe. Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 🙂
Hi Nami,
Thank you so much for your great recipes. Cooking seems nicer and easier than ever. I tried cooking Onsen egg, beef udon, salmon Teriyaki, tonkatsu, potato salad, cucumber salad, etc. My husband and I love your recipes a bunch!
Thanks to you Nami. You are the best!
Cheers,
Debbie
Hi Debbie! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy cooking and eating Japanese food at home! Thanks for trying my recipes! xo
Ok so I just made this recipe and I’m so happy I found it!!! Making the sauce, my apartment filled up with that familiar smell I miss from Japan. After I threw in the meat, the smell and flavor diluted. Any suggestions for making the flavor really stick?
Thanks!
Hi Tashy! First of all, the broth fragrance and flavor will change by adding the meat (I’m sorry to state the obvious). If you’re looking after a strong dashi flavor, you may want to make stronger dashi that will stay even after adding meat. Otherwise, meat flavor/fragrance will overpower the dashi in general. It’s a good thing, we should taste dashi in the broth, but should not be the strongest taste in this recipe. 🙂
It’s definitely the meat you are using. I have made beef dishes a few times and it comes out perfect when I use the already paper thin slices they sell in the hot pot freezers at the grocery store!
Thank you! I look forward to making some of these recipes!
I hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
We love this recipe! It’s simple and quick to make if you have all the right ingredients. We double it up to make sure we have leftovers for our lunch days ahead.
Hi Joy! Thank you for trying this recipe and I’m so happy to hear you enjoy this recipe! Thanks for your kind feedback. 🙂
Really good! I missed yoshinoya when I moved back to Texas from California and got tired of buying the pre-made Yoshinoya packets at $5.50 a pop. This is so good and extremely easy; I was genuinely surprised at how easy it is! I’ll probably reduce the sugar next time, but that’s just personal preference. Now that I have a good base, I can really start to make this my own!
Hi Zoe! Awesome! I’m glad that you took the first step to make this dish at home! Thank you for your kind feedback. You will now make your own version at home! 🙂
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